So, now that oil has dropped below $30/bbl and seems to be staying there, the Saudis and the Russians have agreed in theory that not increasing production of oil would be a good idea.  The only trouble is that they don’t have Iran on board, and Iraq appears to be tentative.  The other OPEC countries might be a little difficult to convince as well.  You can’t tell me that Venezuela won’t keep the spigots open full blast as prices start to come up; their economy is hurting really bad.

Having the Saudis and the Russians come to even a preliminary agreement like this is not going to make any real difference right now, but it’s a step in a good direction.  Both countries are going to keep producing as much oil as they want, and both countries would benefit from increased prices.  If by some miracle they are able to convince some other countries to join in a production freeze, and nobody cheats on the agreement, then we could see a quick increase in oil prices.  By quick I mean at least a few months out, and probably not sooner than six months from when the agreement is implemented.  It will take some time to work through the stores of cheap oil that everyone has stockpiled.

Bottom line for US consumers is you don’t have to worry about ridiculously high gas prices for you summer road trip.